What are the spiritual dynamics behind all the Brexit fury?

Or is it a deceptive plot to keep us tied to Europe?

As votes are counted in an election that should never have taken place in the UK, suggestions of conspiracy and betrayal abound amid feelings of being in Alice in Wonderland territory, where the Queen of Hearts and her entourage turn out to be nothing but a pack of cards.

Why, after a majority (17.4 million people) voted to leave the European Union nearly three years ago, are we still so committed to this Tower of Babel project that we are spending over £100 million to choose representatives who will only be sitting in Brussels for a couple of months?

Unless, of course, that was never the plan! For the message we have been consistently giving to Euro leaders - acting collectively like a petulant Pharaoh - is that we are not really serious about leaving. We prefer to be enslaved to their godless laws, and we just love the leeks and onions.

A Fait Accompli?

A secret document witnessed by someone I am assured is a reliable source suggests that our future in Europe was stitched up at a meeting between British Prime Minister Theresa May (now shortly to vacate her post) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel before being presented to the Cabinet at Chequers last summer as a fait accompli.

The two leaders are said to have agreed to ‘appease’ Brexit voters while at the same time keeping as close to the EU as possible, leaving the door open for re-joining the club at a later stage.

The message we have been giving to Euro leaders - acting collectively like a petulant Pharaoh - is that we are not really serious about leaving.

In other words, it is claimed that both leaders agreed that the only realistic future for the UK was as a member of the EU and that the likely course of events is that Britain would re-join in full at some time after the next general election.

So it transpires that the Withdrawal Agreement presented at Chequers was essentially a German production, with the original draft completed in Berlin last May.

Theresa May announces her soon departure as Prime Minister, 24 May 2019. Alastair Grant/AP/Press Association ImagesDeath Blow for Democracy

Of course this whole sorry saga got off on the wrong foot from the word ‘go’ when, in the wake of the 2016 Referendum, Mrs May – a Remainer – was charged with the task of taking us out, against her own convictions. It was a death blow for democracy, and hardly a recipe for job satisfaction, to expect someone clearly convinced that our best interests lie with Europe to spend the next three years negotiating our way out.

Unless, of course, as our information suggests, that is not what she has really been doing. It would explain why Brexit has turned into such a chaotic, crazy circus in which clowns are trying to tame the tigers.

It would seem that the long and tortuous route to freedom has been blighted by deceit and double-dealing to make it look like we are doing one thing when we are really doing quite another.

I’m very suspicious of the message the mainstream TV media are trying to convey by repeatedly showing Mrs May coming out of church, as if to assure us that she means no harm and is doing her best – perhaps even seeking God’s will – to fulfil her promise that ‘Brexit means Brexit’.

The long and tortuous route to freedom has been blighted by deceit and double-dealing.

But in her days as Home Secretary, she was a key figure pushing the same-sex marriage agenda, helping to turn our centuries-old Judeo-Christian values on their head and presiding over the ruin and destruction of a society once the envy of the world.

Now we are a nation, like Israel in Isaiah’s time, that has been separated from God by our iniquities, with hands “stained with blood” (particularly through abortion) and tongues that have muttered wickedness, where “truth is nowhere to be found” as we rely on “empty arguments” (Isa 59:2-4, 15).

A Modern Moses

A leader of integrity is a rare find these days, but Nigel Farage strikes me as such, passionately committed to the single issue of getting out of Europe. I am aware that his popularity could open the door for Jeremy Corbyn if it were repeated in a general election, but unless we regain our sovereignty forthwith, we may forever remain in the manipulative hands of our bureaucratic puppeteers in Brussels.

I am not alone in comparing Brexit to the exodus from Egypt of the enslaved Jews in ancient times. It was hard enough for Moses, and it took ten plagues before a stubborn Pharaoh would let his people go.

But we don’t even have a Moses, unless things change dramatically when Mrs May is replaced. For our leader has no conviction either about the necessity of our exodus or of God’s involvement in the process.

God’s Awesome Sovereignty

But I am a little encouraged by the newly-postponed date for departure – 31 October. Yes, I know Hallowe’en has come to be marked by darkness amid ghostly goings-on, but it was originally celebrated as the eve of All Hallows (or All Saints), a period of the church year dedicated to remembering the faithful departed. More to the point, it was the date in 1517 when Martin Luther sparked the Reformation with his personal revelation of faith in Christ.

It was also the date, exactly 400 years later, when the British Government (through the Balfour Declaration) promised to help restore Jews from around the world to their ancient land, made possible on the very same day when brave soldiers from Australia and New Zealand triumphed against the odds in the Battle of Beersheva.

I am a little encouraged by the newly-postponed date for our departure – 31 October.

And it was also the date, in 1940, of a British victory over Nazi forces that proved a crucial turning-point of World War II. Its cropping up again as the next proposed date for our deliverance from the EU is a small reminder that the Lord – who answers prayer - holds all our times in his hands, and exercises sovereign rule over the nations as he pleases.

But while I do believe that Brexit is crucial, it will not be the turning-point of our present spiritual battle against the forces of evil unless, as a nation, we repent of the heinous sin of turning our back on the God who brought us through the dark years of the 1940s, in answer to the prayers of people all over the country who queued outside churches to seek him for deliverance (see also Isaiah 59:13).

As the great Prophet urges us, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near” (Isa 55:6).

Postscript

On another positive note, a Doncaster primary school used for polling purposes nevertheless went ahead with an assembly in which I took part (in a second hall) declaring the power of the Gospel – the real need of the nation - to hundreds of children!

Napoleon I, Emmanuel Macron and the spirit of European integration

The leaders of the French Revolution instituted a ‘Cult of Reason’ and set up an altar to the ‘Goddess of Reason’ in Notre Dame cathedral, where the provocatively-clad ‘Goddess’, hailed as Liberty, frolicked with her entourage of maidens.

This ‘Culte’ has subsequently played a significant role in the French political consciousness. The cathedral has become a monument not to the glory of God, but to the glory of France: a symbol of French nationalism.

Here, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned emperor in 1804; throughout the ceremony he wore a golden laurel wreath representative of the Roman Empire, and he crowned his wife Josephine (later divorced) with a replica of Charlemagne's crown. Charlemagne, a largely beneficent monarch, was the main heir to the Roman Empire in France/Germany.

From Napoleon to Macron

Napoleon emerged from the French Revolution. He most resembles Oliver Cromwell, but lacked Cromwell's deep Christian faith. Napoleon was a brilliant general, and the scourge of most of Europe for a decade. He ruled France in an enlightened secular regime, effectively as dictator, and crowned himself ‘emperor’ of France and Italy, seeing himself as a successor to Rome.

Notre Dame has become a monument not to the glory of God, but to the glory of France.

He attempted to overrun all of Europe; only Britain (who liberated Spain and Portugal from his grasp), Russia and Prussia had any success at all against him. At first, only the English Channel saved Britain; Napoleon began building (but never completed) a Channel tunnel. Hubris brought him many enemies outside France. In exile, the Mediterranean island of Elba couldn't contain him – he only succumbed when sent to the island of St. Helena in the remote south Atlantic. Consequently, many French people regard their emperor as a martyr.

President Macron is a fervent admirer of Napoleon and of French hegemony. After the fire, Macron described the restoration of Notre Dame as “notre destin profond” (‘our profound destiny’). He is anxious to have it restored before the Paris Olympic Games of 2024, which would (after the Paris Climate Conference, the Paris Peace Treaty regarding Iran, etc) seal France's and the EU's prestige as the leader of the international community. These games will celebrate, in Monsieur Macron's estimation, the re-establishment of Napoleon's empire - the EU.

I think we should pause to consider what spirit oversees Notre Dame – and the EU. I doubt it is God's spirit.

Asserting Control

The European Union is the construction, in the first place, of France (and Belgium, which is deeply under French influence). It was founded by the Treaty of Rome, and soon began to look like an embryonic ‘Roman Empire’ (actually embracing more of Europe now than the latter ever did).

Under President Macron, France is again asserting its dominance in continental Europe. His authoritarian, not to say aggressive,¹ attitude to the issue of Brexit, is noteworthy: President Macron is no Anglophile! History, especially French history, is very important to him.²

Under President Macron, France is again asserting its dominance in continental Europe.

Napoleon was very wary of democracy, and the EU is not democratic. The one thing that Brexit has so far demonstrated is that Britain is a true democracy – albeit in need of reform. But, like France, the EU is presidential: it is an oligarchy, only supported by a democratic assembly.

There is little doubt that this disaster and the outpouring of national sentiment accompanying it are in accord with President Macron's objectives for France in Europe, as would the Olympics in Paris in 2024 being seen as a glittering affirmation of the EU and its position in the world. If we value our freedom and integrity, it's another signal to Britain to leave as soon as possible.

Dr Chris Wright

Notes

1 It is worth noting that M. Macron's Masters thesis at Nanterre University, Paris, was on Machiavelli and Hegel.

2 Interestingly, Macron was born in Amiens. In 1803 Britain broke the Treaty of Amiens to form an alliance against Napoleon, and ultimately (together with Prussia) defeated him. I am sure this fact is not lost on Macron.

No more pretending: MPs’ desire to thwart democracy is open and obvious.

Today, Friday 29 March 2019, was the day scheduled to be ‘Brexit Day’ – the day Britain left the European Union. Instead of being a day of triumph it has become a day of shame.

On Wednesday, our Members of Parliament decided to take matters into their own hands and take control of the business of the House. They spent the day debating a series of propositions designed to show the will of the House and finding a way through the impasse of Brexit.

At the end of the day when the votes were taken, not one single proposition was passed, not even the one that was whipped by the Opposition and was said to be Labour policy. The result was derisory! Not only did it fail to produce a shared vision, but it demonstrated to the world the ineptitude of our politicians who, left to themselves, without any Government direction, could not find any agreement on anything! They ended the day as they began – directionless, divided, disgruntled and dismayed – the laughing stock of the world.

Confusion and Obstruction

Certainly, all 27 members of the European Union are falling about laughing that the British could tie themselves into such knots and create such confusion.

The nearest any of the propositions got to acceptance was one that called for another referendum, going back to the people - which evidently sounded like a good idea to some MPs. Having completely run out of ideas themselves, they thought it would be a good idea to consult the people in the hopes that the close verdict of 2016 might swing the other way and enable Britain to stay under the umbrella of the EU, which is the real desire of some 500 of our MPs.

Our Parliament is directionless, divided, disgruntled and dismayed – the laughing stock of the world.

At last, the phoney war is over, whereby the majority of our MPs have hidden their real desire to remain in the European Union by opposing the terms of the Prime Minister’s deal. At least we now know that we have a Parliament that is incapable of delivering what the British people voted for in 2016; to leave the European Union. The vast majority of our MPs are opposed to this and are dedicated to obstructing the will of the people who elected them. This is a strange anomaly for a democratic nation with a long history of law and order.

The Battles Intensify

All 500 Remainers, however, recognise that, having triggered Article 50 to leave the European Union, the default position was that we should have left today, without a deal. Having asked the EU for an extension, we are now in their hands to set the date and terms of our leaving.

This is complicated by the European Parliament elections due in May: the EU want us to make up our minds, either to remain and thereby to participate in the elections, or to make a clean break and not disturb their election plans which already look threatened by populist parties gaining ground in many member nations.

Many in the EU would simply like Britain to disappear over the horizon as quickly and soundlessly as possible so that they can put their own house in order. But back in Britain, our MPs are concerned for none of these things. They each have their own agenda and, now that Mrs May has indicated her intention of early resignation, the leadership battles on the Conservative benches to grasp (or avoid!) the poisoned chalice have intensified.

Confession Vital

Will Brexit in any form take place? This is the question hovering over the nation today, which is being observed as a day of prayer by large numbers of Christians throughout the land. How should we be praying? We have said many times in these editorials that for our prayers to be effective, we need to understand what God is doing and how he is working out his purposes, to ensure that we do not pray against God.

Clearly, our prayers have to begin with a confession that we as a nation have turned away from our great biblical heritage and enacted many things in our Parliament that are directly against the teaching of the Bible.

The vast majority of MPs are dedicated to obstructing the will of those who elected them.

To mention just one issue: since legalising abortion in Britain we have killed nearly 9 million babies, thus filling the land with the blood of the innocent: every day a black bag filled with tiny babies is taken out of the back door of our hospitals after a day’s operations and thrown into an incinerator. In Jeremiah’s day they used to burn their babies in the Valley of Ben Hinnom just south of Jerusalem - it was called the ‘Valley of Slaughter’, which God condemned in the most forthright language (Jer 7:30-34).

But God is incredibly patient and lovingly forgiving when we come weeping before him confessing our sinfulness. There is a passage in Isaiah that beautifully expresses God’s attitude when we acknowledge that we have got things wrong:

This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. (Isa 48:17)

Lifting Our Eyes

At least today we know what we are facing in our Parliament. We know there is no rational solution to our problems. We need a miracle to make a breakthrough. Only God can do that, but we know that our nation deserves judgment rather than mercy, so we have to come before God in humility, confessing our sinfulness.

In the knowledge of God’s faithfulness in the past and in the belief that he has good plans for the future of this nation, we have to call upon him for his help: confessing that we do not know what to do, but that our eyes are upon him.

Encouragement amid the battle for Britain.

Two years ago, I reported that I believed God was telling me to stop praying for the nation, which upset some people. But the reason was because God was shaking everything – and we believed that more shaking was to come. He was going to shake the banks, industries, high street stores, political parties, Government - all the human institutions in which people put their trust. I warned about the danger of praying against the will of God, by praying “Peace, peace” when the Lord was saying “There is no peace”.

Today, everything is being shaken like never before! Our objective remains to pray that the shaking will be effective! But also, I believe God is encouraging us to begin to look beyond the present crisis to the times of blessing and prosperity that will follow if there is repentance and turning right now – which is the object of the great shaking.

The thing I find most encouraging is the enormous amount of prayer in the nation – clear, focused, mature prayer, from Bible-believing Christians.

Truth and Hope

Earlier this week, my wife and I were guests at the Annual Meeting in London of Transform Work UK, an organisation that Monica and I founded nearly 20 years ago. It gave us the opportunity of reminiscing and bringing a word of encouragement to them. We had the joy of listening to reports from Christian leaders in commerce and industry of what God is doing today.

Transform Work UK (TWUK) provides a link and purpose for thousands of praying Christians in their places of work. We spoke of the founding principles that warned against the danger of becoming little groups who just did ‘Sunday Church’ on weekdays. From the beginning, the objective was to get the Gospel into the workplace, to make an impact upon the economy, to make a difference in working conditions, to benefit employees: in short, to establish both biblical truth and biblical ethics in industry and commerce.

The thing I find most encouraging is the enormous amount of prayer in the nation – clear, focused, mature prayer, from Bible-believing Christians.

We reminded them of one of the founding members, Jeff, who worked for the Audit Commission. Jeff couldn’t stop sharing his faith with anyone who would listen and over lunch one day he talked to one of the Board Members about the biblical values of integrity, faithfulness, loyalty and love for one another at the heart of the Gospel. This led to the setting up of ‘Christians in the Audit Commission’ as part of their Human Resources. They were given an office and direct access to the Board and to the Chairman, who said that these were the ethical values that needed to be at the heart of the Audit Commission’s work.

It was thrilling this week to hear reports of regional group leaders (known as ‘Ambassadors’) from around the country and news of the impact Christians are making in industry and many other parts of the workplace today.

We heard from Christians in banking, in the motor industry, in local and national Government, in the railway network and numerous others. One man related how he had just led someone to Christ during his lunch hour.

There is even a praying group in 10 Downing Street, and a young man in Theresa May’s constituency enthusiastically reported how his group prays for her on a daily basis.

Great Need for Prayer

I have no doubt that prayer is playing a major part in the struggle to complete a satisfactory Brexit deal. All discerning Christians have known for a long time that the battle to untangle Britain from the tentacles of the European Union would be long and hard, because it is not simply a political tussle - it is a major spiritual conflict.

At the beginning of the TWUK meeting I gave them a scripture which I believe was a word from God for them. It was “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtain wide, do not hold back; lengthen your chords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and the left” (Isa 54:2).

I did not know that Ros Turner, the leader of TWUK, had based her annual message on Jeremiah 29, where the word of God to the exiles in Babylon was to build houses and plant gardens, to increase in number and not to decrease. The same word also instructed the exiles to pray for Babylon, which must have seemed outrageous to the people of Israel whose land had been overrun by this enemy. But that was part of God’s good plan for their future prosperity.

I believe God is encouraging us to begin to look beyond the present crisis to the times of blessing and prosperity that will follow if there is repentance and turning.

I believe that God is now telling Christians in Britain to pray not only for Brexit, but for Brussels! Yes, pray for Brussels! The EU leaders are incredibly worried about the possibility of Britain leaving without a deal which would have a terrible impact upon the EU economy. Of course, they are holding out to the last minute to try to stop Britain leaving the EU; just as are the secular liberal elites in the Westminster Parliament – by any means necessary. Of course, delaying Brexit or forcing another referendum in the current climate of violence and social media hatred would bring violence onto the streets of British cities and chaos across the nation.

Never has there been a greater need for prayer – focused, targeted prayer - since the days of Dunkirk and the 1940s’ threat of Nazi invasion! Nor has there been a greater need to mobilise the little groups of praying Christians in the workplaces, in homes and churches across the nation!

God Longs to Forgive

The next few weeks is going to be the most important time in the history of Britain since the Second World War. Christian intercessors - alone, in small groups or in large gatherings - could focus their prayers with words from Jeremiah 29, praying specifically for repentance and willingness to seek agreement in Brussels and Westminster.

To my surprise, I believe God is saying that he has not finished with Europe, which used to be the most Christian continent in the world, taking the Gospel to many nations. Despite its gross backsliding, God is longing to forgive and to restore. Britain’s departure from the EU will cause an enormous shaking which could be God’s way of opening eyes that are blind.

Through the mountain of prayer that is ascending to heaven from Britain and all over Europe right now as the nations are gripped with anxiety for the future, God is at work using this situation to work out his good purposes. And if we will allow him, he will guide the decision-making and ensure his good plans will give both a future and a hope to Britain and to Europe.

His word is “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord” (Jer 29:13-14).

Turmoil on the streets, in schools and in matters of state: what has gone wrong?

Two chaotic scenes shown on television this week speak volumes about the state of the British nation today. One was a short film about a school for excluded pupils showing young people whose behaviour was so disruptive they had been banned from mainstream education. They were some of nearly 50,000 dysfunctional or ill pupils taught in alternative provision schools.

The second was Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons with 600 representatives of the people all shouting at the same time and no-one listening to anyone else. This was the Mother of Parliaments in action – the oldest and most respected political institution in Western democracy. Brexit fever had spread its pernicious toxin across the House and sanity had fled the building. Chaos reigned supreme.

I went into my study and wept. What has gone wrong with the nation I have loved and served throughout my working life? Is there any word from the Lord? Isaiah 31 came to me. The Assyrian Empire was at its height and many in Israel feared invasion. In Jerusalem there was a strong pro-Egyptian party who had persuaded the king to send emissaries with lavish gifts to sign a treaty binding them with Egypt. The word of the Lord came to the Prophet Isaiah,

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strengths of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord…But the Egyptians are men and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, he who helps will stumble, he who is helped will fall; both will perish together.

How apposite this is for our current situation! When do we ever hear any of our political leaders ask if there is any word from the Lord? Of course, it should be obvious that if M. Barnier and the European Union are happy with the deal, it must raise doubts as whether it will be good for Britain. But the greatest need among our Members of Parliament is for spiritual discernment, which is woefully lacking at present.

When do we ever hear any of our political leaders ask if there is any word from the Lord?

Facing Turmoil

No-one, however, could fail to admire the resilience of the Prime Minister facing a baying pack of critics in the House of Commons with insults and jibes thrown at her from all sides, yet she answered each one with dignity and confidence. At the end of the day she held a televised press conference in the full view of the nation and defended the deal she had struck with Brussels, saying that her major objectives had been achieved and Britain would be leaving the European Union on 29 March 2019.

Her objective has been to seek an arrangement that would ensure frictionless trade with the rest of Europe while at the same time taking back responsibility for our borders; but safeguarding the position of EU workers in Britain and British citizens resident in Europe.

Her objective has also been to get out of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fishing Policy which have favoured foreign producers. Above all, a major objective has been to ensure that Britain is free from the rules and regulations of the European Court of Justice and all the other legal impositions of Brussels. This is where there are major doubts among those who have fought for many years to be free from the EU and return sovereignty to the British Parliament.

Anti-Brexit protestors in Westminster this week. NurPhoto/SIPA USA/PA ImagesAlongside all these objectives has been the complication of the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. No one wants to return to a hard border, but the DUP, whose 10 votes in the House of Commons are needed for a Government majority, do not want Ulster to be treated any different from other parts of the UK.

Most of the politicians shouting abuse at Theresa May had not read the 580-page document jointly agreed by the negotiators from Britain and Brussels. It will no doubt be argued over for a long time and there will still be hardline Brexiteers who will prefer Britain to leave the EU with no deal than one that keeps Britain tied to European laws and customs-regulations for an ill-defined period.

The weakness of all those opposing the EU deal is that they have no rational alternative. They all appear to be a bunch of individuals peddling their own political ambitions - in contrast to the statesmanlike conviction of the Prime Minister.

The greatest need among our MPs is for spiritual discernment, which is woefully lacking at present.

Nation Under Judgment

The turmoil in the House of Commons and out on the streets of Westminster is something never before seen in my lifetime. There is a simple reason for this: we are a nation under judgment. Since the 1950s, one law after another has been passed in our Parliament that violates biblical values and teaching. The final red line was the passing of The Same-Sex Marriage Act in 2013.

This was not only directly against God’s act of creation in making human beings male and female in his own image, but it also further undermined the central importance of marriage and family in the social structure of the nation. This, together with all of the other laws which have enabled and encouraged family breakdown, is why we are now seeing so many children and young people who have no understanding of right and wrong and whose behaviour is uncontrollable. And this is why so many young people are dying on our city streets in a wave of knife crime, drugs and gang warfare.

Our politicians are infected with the same spirit of rebellion that we see among young people. Once you reject the word of God, ultimate standards of truth and righteousness disappear from the nation. If Parliament rejects the deal offered by the EU and agreed with the Prime Minister, the only alternatives are a ‘No Deal’ or another referendum. But a second referendum would only increase division and bring utter disaster, releasing uncontrollable anarchy on the streets.

It is important to remember that the European Union is also under judgment for having rejected the word of the Lord and scorned its centuries of Judeo-Christian heritage. In the near future, I believe we will see one nation after another enveloped in turmoil across Europe with rising nationalism tearing aside the false unity created by Brussels with their one-size-fits-all, secular-pagan politics.

The turmoil in Westminster is for one simple reason: we are a nation under judgment.

Pray for Mercy

If Britain were a godly nation we should simply leave the European Union, with or without a deal, and put our trust in the Lord, who would undoubtedly respond with protection and prosperity. But without faith we are likely to be driven by spirits of darkness.

The future of Britain is at greater risk today than at any time since the darkest days of Dunkirk in 1940. Will God have mercy upon us for the sake of our godly heritage and the faithful remnant of believers who are still interceding at the throne of grace?

Christians: Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong (1 Cor 16:13). And pray: pray for a spirit of repentance to fall among our politicians. Pray for eyes to be opened to the realities of what has gone wrong. Pray for prophetic voices to arise to call the nation back to God. Pray for mercy in the midst of judgment.

Free at last? Not quite!!

Free at last! – Well not quite!! What does it mean? What is the future for Britain? We know what Theresa May said on Brexit Day and we know what Donald Tusk said, but what is God saying to us? Are any of our politicians pausing to seek God’s direction at this crucial time in our history – the most challenging time since the end of World War II?

It is quite wrong to look at Brexit as a ‘divorce’ because it was never a ‘marriage’ that the British people entered willingly and joyfully. It was certainly not a marriage made in heaven! We were tricked into a civil partnership and we lost our virginity in Europe! We were led to the altar, bright-eyed and trusting. When we discovered the reality we felt betrayed. The great question is – can we recover from the experience, and what sort of nation will we be?

In 1973, we thought we were simply joining a trading alliance but we were tricked by our politicians. Edward Heath admitted that he knew right at the start that what was being presented to the British people was not true. He didn’t exactly say that it was a con trick, but he certainly admitted that he knew the end result was full social and political union.¹

British Ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow handing over Theresa May's letter formally triggering Article 50. See Photo Credits.We have the opportunity now to create something new – it’s like being born again! But biblically, being born again involves repentance for the past, and committing ourselves to follow a new path – to live a Godly life. Is there even the faintest possibility that this might happen on a national scale for Britain?

Wartime Faith

A lot of commentators are comparing this testing time to the difficult days of World War II when Britain stood alone against the might of the Nazi army. But Britain is a very different nation today! In May 1940 when France had capitulated and it looked as though the whole of our army was trapped on the continent, King George VI called the nation to prayer.

The nation responded with practically every able-bodied man and woman filling the churches and a quarter of a mile-long queue to get into Westminster Abbey. Britain was a nation of faith. We did not all live godly lives but we believed in God and when we fervently cried out for help he responded with the miracle of Dunkirk, when calm seas enabled the small boats to get to the beaches to rescue the soldiers and low cloud shielded them from air attack.

Brexit feels like the chance to be born again as a nation - but biblically, this involves repentance and dedication to God.

The whole nation recognised this as a miracle - it was even acknowledged as such by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in a speech to Parliament. The nation gave thanks to God for answered prayer. People in Britain knew that they were the only ones left in Europe still standing against the vast army and air force of Nazi Germany; but their confidence was in God.

A Christian Nation?

The difference back then, however, was that everyone in Britain had been taught the Bible from infancy. Every school started the day with an act of worship and every day included teaching from Scripture. Most people knew at least some Bible verses as the children were taught to learn Scripture by heart. After Dunkirk many favourite verses were memorised such as:

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

My grandma had a ‘promise box’ which was like a honeycomb. Each day she took out one of the little folded pieces of paper with a text that gave her a word for the day. I am not saying that Britain was a Godly nation, but it was certainly a Bible-believing and God-fearing nation.

Today, more than half the nation doesn’t even believe in the existence of the God of the Bible and we have a large minority who worship other gods. It would not be possible for the Queen to call the nation to prayer today – who would they pray to? How can the nation know God when they have never heard the Gospel?

We have to face the plain fact that we are no longer a Christian nation.

A lot of commentators are comparing this testing time to the difficult days of World War II – but back then Britain was still a God-fearing nation.

Still Under Judgment

So what hope is there for the future? Will Brexit really bring a blessing? Will Brexit be good for Britain - was it really an answer to prayer?

If we believe Brexit was an answer to the prayers of the faithful remnant of committed Christians left in Britain, then we have to recognise the enormous responsibility that this faithful remnant now bears. The remnant recognised the true spiritual nature of the European Union and the satanic forces that were driving Europe towards an ever-increasing secular humanist and anti-God society.

But it is not enough to recognise the sinful nature of the EU and to rejoice that we are leaving it. We have to recognise the true spiritual state of our own nation. We are a nation under judgment, not least because we have passed many laws that are directly against the word of God - and we cannot blame all these on the EU. Brexit will not get us out of judgment: it is a time of grace, not deliverance.

We lost our way when we drifted from our constitutional position encapsulated in the Queen's Coronation Oath, which was made before God on 2 June 1953. Central to the Oath is the commitment to the utmost of our power to maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel. Now we have the opportunity to bring that Oath back into the centre of our recovery as a nation - more central than the economy or any other primary motivating principle.

In our democracy, we all share responsibility for the state of the nation because we all have a vote and we all have access to our politicians who are our representatives in Parliament. Most Christians don’t ever bother to look at what our politicians are discussing in Parliament and don’t even bother to pray for them! If we never bother to witness to our MPs and ensure that they know the word of God when they are considering issues of state, then how can we escape the judgment of God ourselves?

Brexit will not get us out of judgment: it is a time of grace, not deliverance.

A New Nation Under God?

If Britain is to be a new nation under God, much depends upon the faithful remnant of believers. Are we prepared to stand firm for the truth even when it’s not politically correct to declare it and we may get strong opposition? How much are we prepared to suffer for the Gospel?

We need to read again the letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation because we are facing similar situations today and we need to learn how to become ‘overcomers’.

The Christians in Laodicea, which was the richest town in the region, were lukewarm in their faith and had shut God out of their lives. Is this not the condition of many Christians in Britain? We are like the believers in Laodicea who said “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and I do not need a thing.” God’s response to them was “You are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev 3:17).

Many Christians in Britain are quite content with their lives and do little or nothing to share their faith with others. We are just like the Christians of Laodicea – and we don’t even realise it!

If we are among the Christians who voted for Brexit, we carry a responsibility to blow a trumpet of warning in the nation and to make our witness among fellow believers who do nothing about the spiritual state of their unbelieving neighbours. God will hold his Church responsible if Brexit fails to produce a new nation under God.

There are many signs of life in some of Britain’s churches so we must pray that the faithful remnant rises to the challenge and exercises a transforming influence in the nation.

References

1 See here and here.

Charles Gardner looks for security in a world of turmoil.

At a time of great turbulence, when all around is sinking sand, there is a rock of perfect security on which to stand. His name is Jesus. And those who fail to honour Him will stumble (Isa 8:14; Rom 9:33). In the world of politics, too, there is an "immovable rock" that will injure those nations wishing to move it (Zech 12:3). Could this mean that all who attack Jerusalem – "the city of the Great King" (Matt 5:35) – will themselves be terrorised?

Islamic Attacks

Best-selling novelist Jack Engelhard seems to think so, saying that the dreadful terror attacks enacted by Islamic fanatics in Paris, Brussels, Istanbul and Nice¹ all began in Israel. He said the nations kept telling Israel not to answer with force, but to make peace with them. Yet every such gesture was met with more demands and more terror; and the world refused to figure it out – that it had nothing to do with Israel.

The Jewish state was merely a laboratory for radical Islam who have murdered thousands of Israeli civilians with guns, knives, suicide belts, and now the automobile – reminding us that cars have been used to ram innocent pedestrians to death in Israel on a regular basis since last autumn. And referring to the summit called by French President Hollande to impose peace in Israel, Engelhard asks: "Is he calling for a peace summit with whoever came to Nice to mow down hundreds of celebrants?"²

The grim spectre of violence stalks the earth like a big black cloud

Also asking questions is evangelist Franklin Graham, son of Billy, who says terrorists continue to attack because the U.S.Government refuses to recognize the danger of Islam.³

Even in England, Muslim converts to Christianity require special protection in the face of threats and persecution from their own families.

Yes, the grim spectre of violence stalks the earth like a big black cloud. All this is surely a sign of the imminent return of our Messiah, Yeshua (Luke 17:26f, Matt 24:29f). But it's a time to fasten our seatbelts...I believe the Lord was speaking of these days when he said: "In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory" (Hag 2:6f).

And this theme is repeated in the New Testament when, in warning against godlessness and sexual immorality (Heb 12:16) – an apt summary of today's Britain – the writer to the Hebrews reminds us of what happened at the giving of the Law on Mt Sinai when the mountain shook in a terrifying spectacle accompanied by fire. This would happen again, though on a bigger scale, at the end of the age so that what cannot be shaken would remain.

Staying Strong

Hold on tight, for we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let's not buckle under the pressure of worldly wisdom, but press on as we look to Jesus, "the author and perfecter of our faith". (Heb 12:2) May I encourage you to "strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees" (Heb 12:12), a verse I have taken literally, as a result of which it has become a constant source of testimony to the power of God. If I had listened to worldly wisdom, I would have given up running when my knees got painful but instead, inspired by this scripture, I trusted God to heal them. It's interesting that the very next verse says: "Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."

Let's not buckle under pressure

Now I am able to continue running with perseverance the race marked out for me (Heb 12:1), both physically as well as spiritually.

Jesus said: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matt 2435). He also said that "everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matt 7:24).

Notes

1 At the risk of being accused of bad taste, it is worth mentioning that the Nice massacre took place on Bastille Day when the French celebrate 'freedom' wrought through a revolution in which their royal family were mercilessly executed by guillotine. I am not suggesting that divine vengeance was being visited on the victims in Nice. But there is a sense in which the ruthless, merciless spirit that brought 'freedom' to France is still present in the land. I'm not so sure that celebrations are apt for the storming of the Bastille (prison); perhaps France needs to repent for taking the law into their own hands.

2 Engelhard J, Nice Terror: First they came for the Jews, Arutz Sheva, 15 July 2016.

3 Justice, J. Franklin Graham: This Is Why Terrorists Continue to Attack. Charisma News, 5 July 2016.

Clifford Hill responds to the recent attacks in Brussels.

The latest atrocities in Brussels have shocked the Western world. It is time that world leaders, both East and West, face the fact that their policies in the Middle East have been disastrous.

Russia, the United States, Europe, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia all have different interests and objectives. It is time to face the truth that unless they can find some common ground, the seething discontent and political instability in the region could spill over into a world conflict.

Slaughter and Self-Delusion

Islam is fighting an all-out war for survival, with the militant extremists of the Islamic State (who claim to be the only true Muslims) patterning their violent behaviour on their Mediaeval founder Muhammad. His policy was that people either accepted his revelations as truth or they were slaughtered. His militant Muslim followers today follow the same policy. The latest round of atrocities in Brussels underlines both their determination and their ability to disrupt Western society. They will not go away quietly - neither will they be defeated by military action.

For too long Western politicians have run away from the truth, hiding behind lies and deception, saying that the violence is nothing to do with Islam which is a religion of peace! Until this self-delusion is broken our cities will go on being targeted by deluded religious fanatics and our citizens killed and maimed without warning as they go about their daily lives.

For too long Western politicians have run away from the truth, hiding behind deception and saying that Islam is a religion of peace.

Western VulnerabilityGareth Fuller/PA Wire/Press Association Images

There is not a city in the Western world that is safe. The security forces in Belgium have been on high alert for the past six months, ever since the Paris bombings; they knew that an attack was imminent after the arrest of Salam Abdesalam four days earlier. But they were unable to prevent terrorist attacks on soft targets.

More than 1 million Muslims have entered Europe in the past year from the conflict zones of the Middle East and they continue to pour in despite every effort being made by the European Union to protect its borders. The Islamic State claims that some 5,000 of the migrants are Muslim fighters and the Brussels attacks demonstrate the vulnerability and danger that we all face every time we travel into a crowded city.

Disillusioned Young Men

The broadcaster and philosopher Ahmed Abbadi, who is chairman of the Council of the Islamic scholars in Morocco, says that there is a generation of angry young men across the Arab world who "are jobless, wife-less and hopeless".¹ They know that there is plenty of wealth in Europe, which makes them increasingly angry and vulnerable to Islamic State recruiters who promise them jobs, beautiful wives and high social status if they will come and join them in their ideal Caliphate.

There is a generation of angry, disillusioned young men across the Arab world who are vulnerable to radicalisation.

The situation facing young people in the Middle East is a straight choice between either trying to get to Europe or joining the Islamic State – it's a straight choice because the Middle East, with its long history of colonialism and dictatorship, has no home-grown tradition of good governance: the whole concept of democracy is foreign and there are no deep foundations of a civil society upon which one can be built. This is the tragedy of Syria where the entire infrastructure has been destroyed and Libya where social order has collapsed.

Islamic Oppression

The starting point for reconstruction is the recognition of the truth that much of the responsibility for the lawlessness and hopelessness in the Islamic world lies with the religion of Islam itself. Violence and coercion are endemic to Islam, which allows dictators such as the Saudi royal family to exercise total control over their subjects, teaching generations of children hatred against their opponents (including Jews, Christians and the Shia minority, who are brutally oppressed).

An undercover film, 'Saudi Arabia Uncovered', was broadcast by ITV on Tuesday 22 March with a number of horrendous scenes such as a woman being held down by four policemen in a public road while another man beheaded her; and another scene of five beheaded men strung between two cranes. Some of these scenes were reproduced on the Mail Online.² There was some doubt as to whether the Government would allow the film to be aired, as the Foreign Office usually go to considerable lengths to protect the Saudi Government in order to maintain both political and economic interests. This is nothing new: Winston Churchill had the same problem with the Foreign Office back in the 1920s.³

A recognition is needed that much of the lawlessness and hopelessness in the Islamic world comes from the religion of Islam itself.

The film, about life in Saudi Arabia, showed a woman being punched and kicked by a man in a supermarket and the religious police controlling every aspect of life. Women are not allowed to drive and they have difficulty visiting a doctor without a male escort. It showed children in school being taught to hate Christians and Jews who, they were told, must all be killed. There appeared to be little difference between life in Saudi Arabia and what is happening in the Islamic state. Both are driven by what they claim to be a pure form of Islam.

This is what Islamic State intend to impose upon Europe. But European leaders who have opened the door to more than 1 million Muslims in the past year have not yet woken up to the extent of the horror to which they are condemning the nations of Europe.

The objectives of the jihadist bombers who have infiltrated Europe with the million migrants will continue to hit soft targets in an effort to achieve their objective – the Islamisation of Europe.

Facing the Truth About Islam

Today the security of all Western nations hangs in the balance. If a little nation like Belgium can be so targeted, how much more vulnerable are the larger nations of the West and Russia! The extent of conflict between Shia and Sunni and other Islamic factions is destabilising the whole of the Arab world and creating uncertainty even in those states not directly involved in conflict such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Algeria.

European leaders have not yet woken up to the horrors to which they are condemning European nations.

They all have an interest in establishing stable societies. The first step to genuine reconstruction lies in facing the truth about Islam. This is slowly being recognised by a number of Islamic leaders and scholars and this is where Western leaders and Christian scholars could be of assistance. President Sisi of Egypt was the first major leader in the Arab world to call for a "religious revolution" of Islam to purge the religion of extremism and violence.⁴ He made his dramatic announcement in a New Year's statement (2015) and repeated it in August that year.

Christian Contributions

In Egypt it is not only political leaders but Islamic scholars who are also open to discussing reform. In 2006 Dr Rowan Williams, as Archbishop of Canterbury, was invited by the Islamic scholars of the largest mosque in Cairo to present a lecture on Christianity. Christian leaders could be of immense help in examining the holy books of Islam alongside the Bible and taking out the teaching on violent jihad which characterised the Mediaeval period of Islamic development and which has no place in the modern world.

Most Islamic scholars have a healthy respect for Jesus. Although they do not accept his divinity, they do believe him to be a prophet. The teaching of Jesus on love and forgiveness of sins is absent from Islam but could radically transform Muslim teaching. I'm certainly not suggesting some kind of amalgamation of Christianity and Islam! But if Islamic scholars were willing to study the Bible with Christian scholars it might help them to correct the gross errors in the Qur'an.

References

1 Connolly, K. Battle of ideas at heart of fight against Islamic State. BBC News, 17 March 2016.

2 Oborne, P. A woman beheaded in the road. Five headless corpses hanging from cranes. As a documentary exposes the horror of life in Saudi Arabia, why DOES Britain cosy up to this kingdom of savagery? Mail Online, 21/03/16.

3 See chapter on 'Churchill and the Question of Palestine', in Fromkin, D, 2003. A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East. Phoenix, London, p515f.

4 Smith, S. Egypt's President Urges Muslim Clerics to End Violent Islamic Ideology, Lead Peaceful 'Religious Revolution' in Groundbreaking Speech. Christian Post, 13 January 2015.